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California

After brief FMLA leave, can we request a second opinion to make sure worker is ready to return?

09/22/2010
Q. We have an employee returning from a leave taken under the federal FMLA and the California Family Rights Act. His physician has issued a fitness-for-duty certificate. However, we have doubts about the worker’s ability to perform his job … Can we send him to another physician for a second fitness-for-duty examination?

If a resigning employee gives two weeks’ notice, can we tell him not to bother coming in anymore?

09/22/2010
Q. If an employee resigns and gives two weeks’ notice, can we tell him he isn’t needed for the two weeks and avoid paying him for that time?

Accounting employee has filed for bankruptcy: Will we get in legal trouble if we fire her?

09/22/2010
Q. I recently discovered that an employee who handles my company’s accounts receivable has filed for bankruptcy. Can I discharge this employee?

Q&A: How the new federal contractor NLRA notice rules affect you

09/22/2010
Final rules are now in place for enforcing Executive Order 13496, the White House decree requiring all federal contractors and subcontractors to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The following questions and answers cover some of the issues you may have to deal with.

Summer intern sues law firm over rescinded job offer

09/22/2010
Sometimes, the employee not hired is the one who causes the most legal trouble. A San Francisco law firm is facing a discrimination lawsuit after it declined to hire a young lawyer who had interned there. Her suit alleges that Howard Rice discriminated against her on the basis of gender, national origin and race when it decided to defer and later rescind her associate contract.

Revised heat-illness rules may increase your responsibilities

09/22/2010

If your employees work outdoors or in other hot environments, get ready for tougher rules governing the measures you must take to prevent heat-related illness and injury. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has unanimously voted to revise California’s already stringent heat-illness prevention regulations, formalizing temporary, emergency rules that have been in place since 2005.

Facing class action? Remind bosses: No threats

09/22/2010

It’s frustrating to be sued, especially when it looks like the litigation could become a class-action lawsuit. But warn supervisors: It will only make matters worse if they threaten potential members of the class. Courts want employees to freely choose whether to participate in class actions. If courts suspect that intimidation is a factor, they’ll step in.

Court says no to unlimited right to sue

09/22/2010
The Court of Appeal of California has refused to expand the time a former employee has to file a claim under the Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Loose lips lead to lawsuits: Consult lawyer before releasing personal info

09/22/2010
Privacy laws are confusing. If you are unsure about whether you can release any employee information, check with your attorney. That may help you avoid the kind of drawn-out litigation one employer recently endured.

Bill would double rewards for minimum wage lawsuits

09/22/2010

California employees who sue their employers for minimum wage violations and win will be able to collect twice as much if a recently passed bill becomes law. A.B. 1881 would amend the California Labor Code to allow employees to sue for twice the amount they were underpaid, plus interest.